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Jet from Nigeria lands at Lanseria with US$9.3million dollars in cash. The entrance to
Johannesburg's second airport (Pictured), the Lanseria International Airport (Photo source: whyjoborg.com)
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Investigators
in South Africa have dismissed Nigerian government’s explanations of the
purpose of the US$9.3 million cash seized from two Nigerians and an Israeli as
“flawed and riddled with discrepancies,” PREMIUM TIMES reports.
The
suspects told South African authorities that the money was meant for the
procurement of arms for Nigerian intelligence agencies.
“…
Although various explanations about the money were given to the investigating
officer, these explanations were flawed and riddled with discrepancies,” the
South African prosecution agency said in a statement sent to this newspaper.
The
jet used to ferry the money is owned by Ayo Oritsejafor, who heads the
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. Oritsejafor, a cleric, said he is not aware of the arms deal. He said although
he owns the aircraft, it was managed by another company, Eagle Air Company,
which in turn, leased the jet to a third party, Green Coast Produce Limited.
The
Nigerian government in an unsigned statement, Tuesday, said it has provided
South African authorities with documents and receipts to prove that the
transaction was “legitimate.”
Nigerian
security officials also said that it was normal practice to procure arms with
cash.
“The
Federal Government has submitted relevant data and documents on the transaction
to South Africa and insisted that the transaction was legitimate. It also
clarified that the funds were not laundered or smuggled for any covert manoeuvres.
No launderer will be audacious to fly into a country in a chartered jet with
such huge cash,” a statement by PRNigeria, an agency that regularly
disseminates media statements for the military, police and other security
agencies in Nigeria explained.
The
statement tallies with what top security officials told PREMIUM TIMES in
confidence that the money was legit as the government decided to buy the arms
secretly; because the U.S. government had allegedly blocked its efforts to buy
arms openly.
However,
the government’s explanation does not seem to be gaining traction with South
African investigators as the Asset Forfeiture Unit, AFU, of the National
Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, NPA, has obtained a court order to
freeze the money.
The
NPA, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday said that the manner which
the money was brought into the country breached the country’s laws that
deal with the transfer of foreign exchange of such proportion.
“The
money was initially detained by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) as it
was not disclosed or declared at customs, and was above the prescribed legal
limit for the amount of cash that may be brought into the country,” it said in
a statement.
Investigators
also cast serious doubt on the Nigerian government’s explanation that the money
was meant for the procurement of arms and that it has provided documents and
receipt to back its legitimacy, raising serious concern that suspects might
have been in the process of laundering the money before it was intercepted.
The
NPA said its investigation shows that Tier One Services Group, the firm
Nigerian government claimed it wanted to procure the arms from, is not authorized
to sell or rent military hardware.
“In
court papers, the NPA submitted evidence that Tier One is not registered with
the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and is thus not authorized to
enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or rental of military
equipment,” the statement read.
Tier
One has apparently issued an invoice to a Cyprus based company, ESD
International Group Ltd, ESD, in respect of the procurement of armaments and
helicopters to be delivered to Nigeria. However, South African investigators
said the time when the invoice was prepared and the time the money was brought
in threw up some serious issues of its true intent.
The
money was ferried to South Africa less than a week from the date the invoice
was prepared (September 8, 2014).
The
involvement of a Cyprus based company also heightens the suspicion that this may
be a case of classical money laundering. Cyprus is notorious for its secretive
banking system, which attracts shady characters and corrupt politicians looking
to dry-clean ill-gotten funds.
The NPA added that the
transaction did not follow normal procedure in the procurement of the kind of
equipment it was alleged to have been meant for.
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